Background and Contexts for Teaching Philosophies. Introduction – Contexts for Teaching Philosophies: The Teaching Portfolio A Teaching Philosophy often appears as part of a Teaching Portfolio, which has two main uses—summative and formative— both of which involve evaluation: Summative Evaluation is used to demonstrate the quality of a person's work for hiring and promotion purposes or for purposes of passing a course of study.
Summative evaluation judges the outcome of one's work. Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement. Academic Services staff members are available to read and comment on drafts of Teaching Philosophy Statements written by graduate students and postdocs at Washington University.
(To make an appointment, please contact Dr. Beth Fisher.) Gradutate students and postdocs should also ask faculty advisors, mentors, and peers to read your statement and provide feedback to help you improve its effectiveness and clarity. Note: This page was recently recommended in the Chronicle of Higher Education. What is a Teaching Philosophy Statement? Writing Letters of Recommendation for Academic Jobs. Number 125, Spring 2000 IN A highly competitive academic job market, letters of recommendation are subject to greater scrutiny than ever before.
Search committees faced with large numbers of qualified candidates turn to letters of recommendation as an independent means of gauging the applicants' character and real potential.